Gamaka exponent and Padma Shri awardee, H.R Keshava Murthy passes away

Gamaka exponent and Padma Shri awardee, H.R Keshava Murthy passes away: Senior gamaka exponent H.R. Keshava Murthy, who earlier this year received the Padma Shri award, passed away. He was born in a family of gamaka artists. He had his initial training from his father Ramaswamy Shastry. Under the guidance of Venkateshaiah he continued his studies. Over the decades he has presented hundreds of programmes and trained many students. His performances helped popularise well-known Kannada epics. His hometown of Hosahalli is known for its many musical talents.

Awards and Honours:

Keshava Murthy has received numerous honours from the State government and other cultural organisations, including the Shantala Natya Shri award. The President honoured him with the Padma Shri this year. The residents of his village celebrated the occasion.

December 2022 Current Affairs Quiz

What is Gamaka?

• Gamaka, often referred to as kaavya vaachana, is an Indian storytelling technique that developed in the state of Karnataka. One person reads a stanza of a poem with highest emphasis on meaning, applying suitable raga or a dhaati (melodic line), usually matching the emotion of the poem; the song generally has no established rhythm.
• Another person then explains the meaning of the stanza with examples and anecdotes. Gamaka draws ragas from Kannada folk music, Yakshagana and Carnatic music. The singing itself is called gamaka and the singer a gamaki. The explanation of the rendering is called vyakyana. The emphasis in kaavya vaachana is on literature (Saahithya) and not on music where singer splits, compounds words in poems to make them easier to understand.